Scotland sees its own killing fields

The trenches will be lined with railway sleepers

Mechanical diggers are being used to prepare huge trenches in the frozen ground of two Scottish farms for the destruction of hundreds of animals.

More than 800 animals at Netherplace Farm in Lockerbie and Parkhouse Farm in Canonbie, Dumfries and Galloway, have been slaughtered since foot-and-month was confirmed on Thursday.

The carcasses of those animals will be burned with tonnes of coal in the trenches being dug.

Leaflets have been distributed in the surrounding areas asking people to stay away as the huge pyres are prepared.

Reasons for the killing

It is a debilitating disease the animals will never properly recover from

If the animals are not slaughtered the condition would become endemic in both farming and non-farming animal populations, meaning it would spring up again and again

Europe and America would be closed off as markets

The animals could be vaccinated, but that can lead to symptoms being masked which raises the risk of it becoming endemic

Across Scotland people have been asked to keep out of the countryside and swathes of parkland, many footpaths and forests have been closed.

Scottish rural affairs minister Ross Finnie appealed for the public to stay away from the countryside in general - and in particular to stay away from the funeral pyres when they are lit.

"The farming community was aghast when it came to the destruction of the first cases, that this seemed to be a matter of public interest," he said.

"The public ought to recognise that what is happening is the destruction of a farming livelihood.

"It's a very emotional moment for the farmers. This is not a spectacle for the public to go and see."

Mr Finnie said vets in the field had the "absolute right to ban all movement by anyone".

Ross Finnie: This is not a spectacle for the public

When the fires are lit at the affected farms it is thought that the smoke could linger for more than 36 hours.

The pits being dug are to be three metres deep and they will then be filled with more than 60 tonnes of coal.

A spokesman for the Scottish rural affairs department said officials were "progressing as quickly as possible" with their preparations for the incineration of carcasses.

But he could not say whether the pyres would be lit on Friday or Saturday.

Meanwhile, ac cross Scotland people were being asked to keep away from the countryside and large areas of parkland, many footpaths and forests were closed to the public.

Edinburgh and Glasgow zoos were both shut, Edinburgh's farmers' market this weekend is cancelled and horse racing meetings in Scotland on Friday and Saturday are off.